The Trayvon Martin case -- anyone else following this?

[Clyde]

Well, that worked out about as well as expected.

George Zimmerman's television interview in which he said he had few regrets about the night he killed teenager Trayvon Martin has been entered as possible evidence in his upcoming murder trial.

In a wide ranging interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity Zimmerman, appearing articulate and calm, said he neither regretted carrying a gun that night nor pursuing the 17-year-old Martin.

"I feel that it was all God's plan," he told Hannity. When asked if there was "anything you might do differently," Zimmerman responded, "No Sir."

This morning the prosecution entered the tape of the interview into discovery as and could attempt to admit it as evidence in Zimmerman's trial on charges of second degree murder.

Zimmerman, 28, has maintained that he shot Martin in self-defense after Martin attacked him in Sanford, Fla., on the night of Feb. 26.

Towards the end of the interview, following commercial break, Zimmerman pivoted towards the camera and addressed it directly, saying he misunderstood Hannity's earlier question about whether he had any regrets that night.

"I do wish that there was something, anything I could have done that would have put me in the position that I wouldn't have to take his life," he said.

Granting the interview will likely haunt Zimmerman, veteran legal analyst and defense attorney Mark Eiglarsh told ABC News. "He has impeached himself publicly, this is going to be a huge problem for him… and the prosecutors must be extremely pleased... He was making inconsistent statements that they can use in a trial against him."

The full article is here: http://abcnews.go.com/US/george-zimmerm ... Ai-IUTUBFs

Read it for yourself. There is plenty more, including that Zimmerman cancelled an interview with Barbara Walters after demanding "certain conditions" that she "would never agree to" only to call in to The View the next day asking to be put on the air but denied.

What a farce.

[Antero]

God, he seriously impeached himself on air. That's fucking insane. The fuck does his lawyer think he's doing?

[:::]

fucking insane

This phrase has occurred to me a few times this past week in reaction to headlines about this case. I have nothing substantive to add here but am compelled to observe (again) that the whole thing is just completely fucking clownshoes mental.

The fuck does his lawyer think he's doing?

Either/Or: Sandusky's lawyer vs. Zimmerman's lawyer.

[johnnyshape]

The attorney for the man who shot and killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin said on Monday he would seek to get the case dismissed using a traditional self-defence argument and not the state's "stand your ground" statute.

Mark O'Mara, who is defending George Zimmerman against a second-degree murder charge after the fatal February shooting, said the traditional self-defence approach was appropriate because the facts suggested his client could not retreat from a beating Martin was giving him.

Zimmerman's attorneys said last week they would use Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force – rather than retreat – if they believe their lives are in danger.

"The facts don't seem to support a 'stand your ground' defence," O'Mara said.

Martin's 26 February death in a gated community in the Orlando suburb of Sanford first drew national attention on 8 March, the day his relatives held their first news conference to lament that Zimmerman had not been arrested.

Martin was unarmed and walking back to an apartment where he was staying with his father at the time of the shooting.

Zimmerman was not charged with second-degree murder until 44 days after the shooting. During that time, protesters around the nation demanded Zimmerman's arrest and the Sanford police department was accused of racism and incompetence.

Zimmerman, 28, pleaded not guilty and was released on a $1m bond while awaiting trial. If a judge were to side with Zimmerman in a pretrial hearing under either theory, the murder charge would be dismissed immediately. O'Mara said that he would not have to invoke any part of the "stand your ground" statute under the strategy he plans to use.

"I don't' like 'stand your ground' because I'm not sure it's a 'stand your ground' case," O'Mara said.

University of Miami law professor Tamara Lave said this change by O'Mara may be a signal that he thinks his case for self-defence is solid even without the special provisions afforded by "stand your ground".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/au ... von-martin

[galanter]

galanter's whole position is: can they prove the fucking coon didn't have it coming? until that happens, zimmerman is a saint that has done nothing wrong.

If you want to call Zimmerman a racist that's one thing, but putting those words in my mouth amounts to calling *me* a racist and that I will not tolerate. An apology and retraction would be in order here.

For the record, I don't think anyone here thinks you used the term fucking coon in defense of George Zimmerman. I, however, use it when summing up your position because it's there.

In other words you are accusing me of being a racist. You are wrong.

You deny the possibility that Zimmerman used the term.

None of the major players, including the prosecution and (I believe) the Martin family are still insisting he used that term.

You deny the probability that Zimmerman's attack on Trayvon Martin was racially motivated.

I certainly deny there is evidence to this effect. He didn't use the term "coon." He didn't even mention race until explicitly asked by the police operator. There are no other verified racist acts in his background. Most personal reports are that he is not a racist, although there are a couple outliers. The FBI found no evidence to support the accusation that this was a race based crime.

Your leaps of faith to defend Zimmerman's words and actions are so unreasonable that your position cannot be held without denigrating Martin--let alone the fact that you attack the character of the kid outright. It's there.

Anything I've said about Martin is out there in the press.

I read fucking coon every time you write something about this.

Then you should work on your reading comprehension skills.

[righthanded]

HAHAH, fuck off, troll.

[Antero]

The attorney for the man who shot and killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin said on Monday he would seek to get the case dismissed using a traditional self-defence argument and not the state's "stand your ground" statute.

Mark O'Mara, who is defending George Zimmerman against a second-degree murder charge after the fatal February shooting, said the traditional self-defence approach was appropriate because the facts suggested his client could not retreat from a beating Martin was giving him.

Zimmerman's attorneys said last week they would use Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force – rather than retreat – if they believe their lives are in danger.

"The facts don't seem to support a 'stand your ground' defence," O'Mara said.

holy fucking shit

Saying that such-and-such defense doesn't match the facts, in public? Discussing trial strategy? Ruling out an avenue of victory before trial? This lawyer is a danger to his clients.

How the fuck are people like this allowed to practice law?

[galanter]

The attorney for the man who shot and killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin said on Monday he would seek to get the case dismissed using a traditional self-defence argument and not the state's "stand your ground" statute.

Mark O'Mara, who is defending George Zimmerman against a second-degree murder charge after the fatal February shooting, said the traditional self-defence approach was appropriate because the facts suggested his client could not retreat from a beating Martin was giving him.

Zimmerman's attorneys said last week they would use Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force – rather than retreat – if they believe their lives are in danger.

"The facts don't seem to support a 'stand your ground' defence," O'Mara said.

holy fucking shit

Saying that such-and-such defense doesn't match the facts, in public? Discussing trial strategy? Ruling out an avenue of victory before trial? This lawyer is a danger to his clients.

How the fuck are people like this allowed to practice law?

What he is saying is (1) stand your ground applies when a person has the option of retreating from a threat but chooses not to, and (2) Zimmerman didn't have the option of retreating from the threat because the situation went from neutral to Martin sucker punching Zimmerman, jumping on his chest, and pounding his head against the concrete.

(Yeah I know some will respond that it wasn't a neutral situation, that Zimmerman first posed a threat to Martin, etc. I'm just explaining what O'Mara is claiming and why it isn't a disservice to Zimmerman.)

[Antero]

The attorney for the man who shot and killed unarmed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin said on Monday he would seek to get the case dismissed using a traditional self-defence argument and not the state's "stand your ground" statute.

Mark O'Mara, who is defending George Zimmerman against a second-degree murder charge after the fatal February shooting, said the traditional self-defence approach was appropriate because the facts suggested his client could not retreat from a beating Martin was giving him.

Zimmerman's attorneys said last week they would use Florida's controversial "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force – rather than retreat – if they believe their lives are in danger.

"The facts don't seem to support a 'stand your ground' defence," O'Mara said.

holy fucking shit

Saying that such-and-such defense doesn't match the facts, in public? Discussing trial strategy? Ruling out an avenue of victory before trial? This lawyer is a danger to his clients.

How the fuck are people like this allowed to practice law?

What he is saying is (1) stand your ground applies when a person has the option of retreating from a threat but chooses not to, and (2) Zimmerman didn't have the option of retreating from the threat because the situation went from neutral to Martin sucker punching Zimmerman, jumping on his chest, and pounding his head against the concrete.

(Yeah I know some will respond that it wasn't a neutral situation, that Zimmerman first posed a threat to Martin, etc. I'm just explaining what O'Mara is claiming and why it isn't a disservice to Zimmerman.)

I'm not talking about your continued shallow, imbecilic, crypto-racist defense of Zimmerman's actions, I'm talking about a lawyer's ethical duties and the basics of legal strategy.

You do not rule out defenses in front of the media before trial. You do not let the prosecutor know what angle you're pursuing before you absolutely have to. You do not drop a defense when it could get your client off. You do not fucking talk about your work product with people who are not part of the fucking defense team.

[numberthirty]

You do not rule out defenses in front of the media before trial. You do not let the prosecutor know what angle you're pursuing before you absolutely have to. You do not drop a defense when it could get your client off. You do not fucking talk about your work product with people who are not part of the fucking defense team.

That guy has been a head scratcher right from the jump. This shit looks like the start of My Cousin Vinny.

[Antero]

You do not rule out defenses in front of the media before trial. You do not let the prosecutor know what angle you're pursuing before you absolutely have to. You do not drop a defense when it could get your client off. You do not fucking talk about your work product with people who are not part of the fucking defense team.

That guy has been a head scratcher right from the jump. This shit looks like the start of My Cousin Vinny.

This shit seriously makes my blood boil. This motherfucker, and Sandusky's lawyer, are both fucking fame-chasing parasites who don't give a fuck about the fate of their clients. I know a ton of incredible defense attorneys, public defenders and private both, who live and die for their clients no matter how awful the charges. It's a personal fucking affront to see someone leech off of a client's notoriety without doing a damn thing to protect them.

[galanter]

Antero, those are not my shallow, imbecilic, crypto-racist defenses of Zimmerman's actions, those are his lawyer's shallow, imbecilic, crypto-racist defenses of Zimmerman's actions.

You clearly don't understand the law involved here. Simple self-defense a stronger claim to innocence if one can make it. Stand your ground comes into play when the justification for self-defense becomes more ambiguous due to the opportunity to back away. I.e. his lawyer is making the most powerful, most widely accepted in general principle, case for innocence here. He's not accepting the notion that the only conceivable defense is to find refuge in the obscurities of stand your ground. He's saying good old fashioned self-defense has us covered and we don't even have to go there. It's a claim that serves Zimmerman well, and has to be made approximately now because of pre-trial motions.

[Antero]

You clearly don't understand the law involved here.

I think I can quite safely say that I am the only person on the board who has actually tried a self-defense case in a state with a stand-your-ground law.

[kerble]

Oh, snap.

[Dave//Eksvplot]

You clearly don't understand the law involved here.

I think I can quite safely say that I am the only person on the board who has actually tried a self-defense case in a state with a stand-your-ground law.

Ha!

[Colonel Panic]

*snicker*

[El Protoolio]

Someone please pass me the popcorn.

[AnthonyVillalobos]

Galanter probably just sharted in his baggy pants.


Will someone with a computer that isn't a cereal box make a meme template out of Galanter's avatar?

[don.chaney]

[AnthonyVillalobos]

YES!